Fate of the Jedi: Ascension

The Jedi's authority hangs in the balance, but what lengths will the Sith venture to in their quest for total control? And what are their chances against the might of Abeloth?

As Luke and Ben Skywalker relentlessly pursue the formidable dark-side entity known as Abeloth, the Lost Tribe of the Sith faces internal division, threatened by an even more significant force—placing one Dark Lord in a life-or-death struggle against a member of his own family.

On Coruscant, a power vacuum has escalated tensions to a breaking point, as various factions vie for dominance over the Galactic Alliance. The Jedi Order finds itself amidst hidden agendas, treacherous plots, and clandestine Sith operatives, struggling to prevent the GA government from descending into chaos.

While committed to upholding peace and ensuring fairness, the Jedi are unprepared to confront the combined dangers of Sith power, a deposed dictator seeking galaxy-wide revenge, and a being of pure malevolence with aspirations of godhood.

The narrative commences with a gathering of the Circle of Lords, deliberating whether to accept Abeloth's proposal to unite and eliminate Luke Skywalker and the Jedi Order. The Lords find themselves at odds, yet ultimately, despite his misgivings about Abeloth's true intentions, Grand Lord Darish Vol decides the Lost Tribe of the Sith must consent to Abeloth's offer. Subsequently, Vol reaches out to Gavar Khai, the one who brought Abeloth and Ship to Kesh, instructing him to postpone Abeloth's arrival on the planet in order to arrange a celebration for their powerful new companion. After Khai communicates this to Abeloth, she expresses skepticism and mistrust of Vol's motives, but agrees to the conditions. Abeloth then suggests that Khai and his entire fleet return to Kesh to spend time with their loved ones. Khai complies and spends the night with his wife, Lahka. They discuss the implications of their daughter's choices and her decision to side with the Skywalkers. Gavar, convinced that Vestara deserves punishment, kills her pet uvak, Tikk.

Eventually, Kesh hosts an elaborate parade and masquerade to formally welcome Abeloth. Throughout these events, Grand Lord Vol keenly observes Abeloth, attempting to discern her true aims. After the festivities conclude, Vol retires to his chambers and is attacked in his dreams by Abeloth. However, Vol manages to trap Abeloth mentally and launches his own assault on the dark side entity. When Abeloth is attacked, she unleashes a Force shock-wave that destroys Kesh's capital city, Tahv, resulting in the deaths of millions of citizens, both Sith and non-Sith, including Lahka Khai. Vol is weakened, while Ship rescues Abeloth and departs with her. Despite his wife's death, Gavar Khai and his Sith forces remain loyal to Abeloth (who has manipulated them all with the Force) and accompany her into hyperspace. Later, Abeloth watches footage of an interview with Rokari Kem, the revered leader of the freedom fighters of Qaras, and becomes very interested in Kem.

Luke, Ben, Vestara, and Jaina Solo deliberate over a list of Ship's possible destinations, which includes several planets with strong historical connections to the Sith. Jaina proposes that they investigate Korriban first, and suggests that Vestara accompany the Jedi on the mission. Luke agrees, although he has reservations about bringing the young Sith to a planet so deeply saturated with the dark side of the Force. Upon investigating Korriban, specifically the Valley of the Dark Lords, they encounter dog-like guardians known as the tuk'ata. Vestara communicates with the tuk'ata in the ancient Sith language to repel them and to request that they guide the group to any other Sith on Korriban. While the guardians grant Vestara's first request, they cannot fulfill her second because there are no Sith remaining on Korriban. When she relays this information to the Skywalkers and Jaina, she withholds the fact that she made a third request of the tuk'ata: if any Sith arrive in the future, the guardians must advise them to hide for their own safety.

On Coruscant, Galactic Alliance General Merratt Jaxton is replaced by former GA Chief of Staff Wynn Dorvan as a member of the governing triumvirate, which also includes Kuati Senator Haydnat Treen and Jedi Master Saba Sebatyne. The triumvirate and their key advisors are working diligently to manage the affairs of the Galactic Alliance following the downfall of former Chief of State Natasi Daala. Their primary concern is the series of revolts on slave-holding worlds, which have led to the establishment of new anti-slavery governments seeking to join the Galactic Alliance. These events all play into the schemes of Imperial Moff Drikl Lecersen and his accomplices (including Treen, Jaxton, Coruscanti Senator Fost Bramsin, GA Admiral Sallinor Parova, and General Stavin Thaal), who aim to overthrow their respective governments in order to seize power. A new member joins their conspiracy: Kameron Suldar, a new Senator from a recently liberated world.

Meanwhile, Daala remains at large in the galaxy with Boba Fett. The bounty hunter reveals that he and his Mandalorians have discovered that Lecersen orchestrated Freedom Flight to create problems for Daala and facilitate his conspiracy's coup. Daala forms an alliance with Moff Porrak Vansyn and they lure Lecersen into a trap within Imperial space. There, Daala presents Lecersen with an ultimatum: either she will execute him for his betrayal and expose his connections to Freedom Flight, or he can join her in her plans. Elsewhere, the Squib trio of Emala, Sligh, and Grees meet with the Solos to reveal Daala's location in exchange for credits and protection from their Imperial pursuers. The Squibs fulfill their part of the agreement, but when they meet with Imperial Head of State Jagged Fel to request amnesty, they are forced to admit that they also stole an Imperial chemical that reverses aging. Jag blackmails them into returning the chemical in exchange for amnesty.

Luke, Ben, Jaina, and Vestara's search for Abeloth and her Sith allies leads them to the ancient Sith world of Dromund Kaas. There, they confront a strike team of ten Sith Sabers loyal to Abeloth, led by Gavar Khai. While the Skywalkers and Jaina defeat and kill most of their attackers, Vestara is forced to fight her father. With Gavar's mind clouded by Abeloth's influence, Vestara manages to strike him down. This experience serves as the final catalyst for Vestara to embrace the light side of the Force. Ben and Vestara finally confess their love for each other, and she asks to become a Jedi apprentice. After probing her thoughts for deception, Luke is convinced of Vestara's sincerity and accepts her into the Order. Vestara's redemption also allows Ben to remember his late cousin, Jacen Solo, not as the Sith Lord Darth Caedus, but as the good man he once was before the Second Galactic Civil War.

Afterward, they return to Coruscant—with Luke's sentence of exile from the GA capital world officially lifted since Daala's deposition—to achieve two goals: to search the Jedi Archives for clues about Abeloth and her allies' whereabouts, and for Luke to make an announcement. First, Luke decides that Saba Sebatyne will not be punished for killing Master Kenth Hamner, as she acted in the best interests of the Order. He then declares that the Jedi Order will become an independent entity from the Galactic Alliance. This effectively dissolves the GA triumvirate, prompting the Galactic Alliance Senate to convene an emergency session to elect an acting Chief of State. As the Jedi prepare to leave Coruscant, Jagged Fel meets with the Solos, who grant him custody of escaped GA convict Tahiri Veila. Tahiri, seeking to atone for killing Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, offers to serve as Jag's bodyguard until she can stand trial in an Imperial court. Jag accepts this arrangement, although he does not wish to see Tahiri harmed.

As the Jedi depart Coruscant to investigate the Sith world of Upekzar (discovered through research by Jedi Knight Natua Wan), Leia remains behind to advise the Galactic Alliance leadership, while Tesar Sebatyne and his fellow Barabel Jedi secretly guard the Jedi Temple from their nests within the caverns. Following the Jedi's departure, Senator Suldar and numerous other new Senators in the GA form an anti-Jedi subcommittee that significantly influences the vote for acting Chief of State. Instead of the expected Wynn Dorvan being elected, former terrorist/freedom fighter Senator Padnel Ovin is sworn in as the Chief. However, Ovin is astute enough to realize that he was chosen for his perceived simplistic leadership style, which his voters believe will allow them to manipulate him as a puppet. Thus, Ovin reappoints Dorvan to his former position as Chief of Staff to help him navigate the political machinations of Suldar's faction.

It turns out that Kameron Suldar, whose real name is Ivaar Workan, and all the other Senators in the anti-Jedi subcommittee are actually the human members of the Lost Tribe of the Sith, carrying out their duties while their Keshiri colleagues infiltrate the Jedi Temple. The subcommittee quickly has Leia arrested on fabricated charges, but she does not resist. Luke was aware of the Lost Tribe's infiltration of the GA early on, which partly motivated him to remove the Jedi from the Galactic Alliance and Coruscant. While this allows the Sith to secretly control the government, it gives the Jedi time to deal with Abeloth, Ship, and their Sith allies. Once Abeloth and the others are dealt with, the Jedi will swiftly return to Coruscant and eliminate the remaining members of the Lost Tribe.

Meanwhile, Leia becomes involved in a new conspiracy circle called Club Bwua'tu, which includes the newly-reawakened Admiral Nek Bwua'tu, his uncle Eramuth, Wynn Dorvan, and others. Their goal is to expose the Lecersen conspiracy still brewing within the Galactic Alliance. As a result, the Lecersen conspiracy gradually unravels, beginning with Stavin Thaal informing Senator Treen that it is time to disband. Treen kills Bramsin, staging it to look like he died of old age, and then retires from politics to return to her home world of Kuat. Parova is captured by Club Bwua'tu, but before she can reveal any information, she is killed in a refresher by Ivaar Workan's Sith. Thaal forces Jaxton to commit suicide, and then goes into hiding, ending the Imperial-Alliance conspiracy.

Meanwhile, Jag confronts Moff Tol Getelles about the experiments the Squibs discovered, which leads to Getelles shooting Jag aboard the Bloodfin and reporting to Daala that Jag is dead. However, unbeknownst to Daala, Getelles staged the entire event, only stunning Jag and then defecting to Daala. In an attempt to thwart Daala's plan to become Empress of the Imperial Remnant, Jag, along with the vanguard of the Empire of the Hand and his own loyal forces of the Remnant, tracks her down to a meeting of her Maw Irregular Fleet and the forces of Lecersen, Vansyn, Trevin, and Getelles, surprising them in the Exodo system. With Jag attacking from the front, killing Trevin and his forces, and Getelles turning on Daala, it appears that Jag can quickly defeat Daala. However, the tide of the battle shifts when Lecersen destroys Jag's hidden base, the hollowed-out moon Boreleo, as well as the Pellaeon hidden near the moon. Jag, Kthira'shi'ktarloo, and Tahiri manage to escape to the Bloodfin, commanded by Admiral Vitor Reige, but now face a hard battle.

Grand Lord Vol, arriving on Coruscant, learns from Lord Workan that Rokari Kem, the new and charismatic Senator from Qaras, is not who she claims to be and could be a threat to the Sith. Vol decides to kill her, only to be killed by Kem herself. Kem then tasks Workan, disguised as Senator Suldar, to get her elected as Chief of State in Ovin's place. Using the Force, she induces a heart attack in the Chief of State. Ovin filibusters the Senate with a speech about his homeworld. Ovin dies, and Kem is almost immediately elected Chief of State. She then takes up residence in the abandoned Jedi Temple, where she learns that Leia has escaped prison with the help of Club Bwua'tu, but that one of the conspirators, Wynn Dorvan, has been captured. Kem then visits Dorvan to extract information from him, revealing herself to be Abeloth.

Meanwhile, on Upekzar, Luke leads the majority of the Jedi Order in the search for Abeloth, only to discover that she has set a trap using the body of Sith Saber Tola Annax as a Force bomb. The Jedi manage to escape, but the explosion triggers a massive groundquake. Simultaneously, Ben, Vestara, and Natua Wan are tasked by Luke to explore the inactive lava tunnels beneath the planet and are attacked by a mutated Dream Singer. During the fight, Ben is incapacitated by hallucinations created by the beast. Vestara, seeing no other way to save his life, kills Natua by feeding her to the beast, which then retreats into the tunnel. Despite saving Ben's life, the choice to kill a Jedi instead of trying to fight the beast some other way makes Vestara realize that she might be too much of a Sith to ever truly become a Jedi. The novel concludes with Vestara contemplating that one day, she will be forced to fully embrace her Sith roots, which may require her to kill Ben.

In the sixth chapter, Leia Organa Solo is erroneously identified as the former GA Chief of State, when she actually served as Chief of State of the New Republic.

Chapter eight incorrectly states that Jacen Solo is Ben Skywalker's uncle, rather than his cousin.

In chapter nine, Dromund Kaas is misspelled as "Dromand Kaas."

In chapter twenty-five, Porrak Vansyn's first name is consistently misspelled as "Porak."

Chapter twenty-eight introduces Eramuth Bwua'tu as Nek Bwua'tu's cousin, instead of his uncle.

In chapter thirty-three, Natasi Daala is incorrectly referred to as the Chief of State of the Galactic Empire, a non-existent position, instead of the recently deposed Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance.

In chapter thirty-five, a TIE Defender is twice referred to as a "TIE Destroyer", and an Interdictor is referred to as an "Interceptor".

• ISBN 9780345509161 ; August 9 , 2011 ; Del Rey ; US hardcover [1]
• ISBN 9780345519597 ; August 9, 2011; Del Rey; US eBook [2]
• ISBN 9780345509161 ; August 16 , 2011; Del Rey; US hardcover, Science Fiction Book Club edition (1342254) [5]
• ISBN 9780345509178 ; November 27 , 2012 ; Del Rey; US paperback [3]